Top 20 Worst Movie Endings of All Time
#20: “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008)
Kicking off our list is the Indiana Jones film that went away from the spiritual and straight into sci-fi. While we could stomach a lot, this film nuked the fridge big time when the crystal skull awakened a generic alien who proceeded to melt Cate Blanchett’s brain. Even worse is the image of Indy witnessing a spaceship flying off into another dimension. The ending of “The Last Crusade” and originally the series was perfect; why’d they have to go and mess with it?!
#19: “Superman” (1978)
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Don’t get us wrong, there’s still something magical about 1978’s “Superman”. But that doesn’t mean the ending makes any sense. When Superman fails to save Lois Lane, he decides to just throw out the laws of physics. This involves Superman nonsensically using his super speed to reverse the rotation of the planet and turn back time, cause that’s how it works. Now, we’re not scientists, but we’re pretty sure that would just kill everything, rather than save anyone’s life. This ending is more likely to leave viewers puzzled than impressed.
#18: “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” (2012)
Top 10 Worst Movie Endings of the 2010s
There’re many who’d argue that the beginning and the middle of the “Twilight” saga were pretty bad too. But even diehard fans had difficulty standing up for its ending! The final battle scene has some moments, but the conclusion is simply a con - revealing that the whole battle was just a vision. It’s to be expected that a book-to-film adaptation should employ creative license, but at least make it worth our while! In the end, the epic something was an epic nothing... And an epic waste of time!
#17: “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (2009)
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While some films on this list were perhaps a little too hasty to kill people off, the “Transformers” team flirted with the idea of KO-ing a main character, but couldn’t quite follow through - much to our frustration! First Sam dies and is then revived, and then the unthinkable happens as Optimus Prime looks to be on his way out. But it’s OK because he’s a robot, and robots can get spare parts! All that was ever needed was a service and an upgrade and then ‘hey presto’, day is saved!
#16: “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” (2014)
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Everyone loves an emotional ending, but “The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s” attempt was just cringey! Sure, it’s kinda cute when the kid stands in the way of The Rhino, even if it is sorta confusing as to exactly why Rhino’s there... But when the real webslinger arrives back into shot, we just can’t suspend our disbelief any further! The heart-to-heart, the fist-bump, the megaphone and the manhole cover - it all reeks of cheese! This ending was meant to keep us guessing, but it only had us cursing!
#15: “The Forgotten” (2004)
Another Top 10 Worst Movie Endings
When in doubt, blame aliens! That’s apparently what the filmmakers behind “The Forgotten” decided when they came up with this ending. The film follows Julianne Moore’s character Telly, who believes that she had a son - but no one else in her life remembers him. It’s an intriguing premise, which seems set to raise questions about Telly’s sanity, and take us for a ride into government conspiracy territory. That is, until the reveal that it was all aliens. Yep, turns out the government is working with extraterrestrials to conduct a completely nonsensical experiment about maternal instincts. E.T. . . go home!
#14: “Saw 3D” (2010)
Top 10 Worst Movie Endings
The original “Saw’s” twist ending shocked us, but man did this series jump the shark. Remember Dr. Lawrence Gordon, the guy who cut off his foot in the first movie? Well, get this. He managed to survive, and in the final act of “Saw 3D” it’s revealed that he’s been Jigsaw’s partner in crime ever since. In retaliation for killing Jill, Gordon kidnaps Detective Hoffman, takes him to a familiar room, and declares the game officially over. It’s totally ludicrous, but at least the franchise got marginally better with 2017’s “Jigsaw”.
#13: “The Number 23” (2007)
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In this psychological thriller from Joel Schumacher, Jim Carrey's character Walter finds a book titled "The Number 23". It tells the story of a detective who murdered his own girlfriend. With an increasing amount of things in common with the character and the eponymous number seemingly popping up everywhere in his life, his own sanity begins to unravel as he pulls at each thread of the mystery. What mysterious forces could be at work? Well, as it turns out, it was actually Walter who wrote the book himself, before giving himself amnesia. Of course.
#12: “Lucy” (2014)
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It’s hard to say whether “Lucy” is a smart story stuck in a dumb movie or a dumb story stuck in a smart movie. One thing’s for certain, though: Its ending is 100% idiotic. As her brain reaches maximum capacity, Lucy transcends all humankind, becomes one with the space-time continuum, and leaves behind a flash drive for Dr. Morgan Freeman. It almost feels like director Luc Besson is trying to channel “2001.” But instead of going out on a profound note, “Lucy” leaves the audience slapping their foreheads in frustration.
#11: “Serenity” (2019)
Matthew McConaughey has starred in some incredible films. And “Serenity” is not one of them. What starts off as a mystery thriller with an impressive cast soon becomes . . . well, a computer game. Yeah, they’re all in a computer game. Except for Matthew McConaughey’s son Patrick, who’s real and created the game. It turns out, the scenes that seem like flashbacks of Patrick are actually in the here and now. This last fact is revealed at the end when Patrick kills his abusive step-dad. Sadly, by this point the audience’s suspension of disbelief is already dead.
#10: “Now You See Me” (2013)
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A good magic trick builds anticipation that leads towards some sort of big reveal. And understandably, audiences were expecting the same from the ending of “Now You See Me”. The vast majority of the film is seriously slick. The magic is impressive, and left us all waiting on the edge of our seats for the conclusion. But when that presented itself as one double-agent cop and a series of plot holes big enough to personally fall into, viewers were sighing rather than smiling!
#9: “Star Trek Into Darkness” (2013)
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“Into Darkness” was such an awesome follow-up to J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” reboot that it’s easy to forgive the film’s absurd ending. With that said, it was a pretty absurd ending. Rather than paying homage to “Wrath of Khan,” “Into Darkness” literally recreates its spiritual successor’s iconic climax. The only difference is that Kirk and Spock reverse roles, leading to Kirk’s demise and Spock making William Shatner’s infamously silly cursing sound even sillier. Don’t worry, though, because Bones basically cures death and brings Kirk back to life. Well, that’s convenient.
#8: “Cats” (2019)
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“The ending”, you say? “How about the whole movie!” That’s a good point, but the ending IS particularly bonkers. Admittedly, director Tom Hooper had his work cut out for him when he decided to adapt Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, which doesn’t really make sense either. But you can get away with levels of absurdity on stage that don’t necessarily translate to film. The ending of “Cats” sees outcast Grizabella singing a song at the Jellicle Ball that wins her a ride on a chandelier to the Heaviside Layer, a metaphor for rebirth that’s also a literal place … of some sort. This is despite the efforts of the evil Macavity, who for some reason has magic powers. Yeah, make sense of that.
#7: “The Matrix Revolutions” (2003)
Top 10 Worst Movie Endings of the 2000s
By the end of this trilogy, the storyline had become so convoluted that it needed something extra-special to hold it all together. Unfortunately, the film dodged that idea entirely. Sure, Neo’s sacrifice is heroic and Smith’s demise is a good thing... But what about everybody else plugged into the Matrix? Has the whole thing just been explained away by a brief encounter on a park bench? A pretty sunrise is nice, but it doesn’t answer any questions! How long will there be peace? Will the ones who want out actually be freed? And what does the Oracle mean that we’ll see Neo again?
#6: “War of the Worlds” (2005)
Yet Another Top 10 Worst Movie Endings
Arguably, Steven Spielberg was fated to disappoint from the start by choosing to remain loyal to “War of the Worlds’” source material. This means that the aliens are defeated by germs. Did these intergalactic travellers learn nothing from the extraterrestrials who were defeated by water in “Signs”? Do your research, aliens! Still, the movie looks set to challenge us with an ambiguous and powerful ending, since Ray’s son Robbie presumably died after stupidly running into battle. But guess what, he’s alive, without a scratch on him, and the narration wraps up everything in a nice, tidy bow ...
#5: “The Happening” (2008)
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Frankly, when it comes to bad endings, M. Night Shyamalan’s movies left us spoiled for choice. “Signs”? “The Village”? “Lady in the Water”? Audiences still fondly remember the twist ending of his breakout film “The Sixth Sense”, but man have there been a LOT of disappointments since. Ultimately though we had to go with “The Happening” (2008). Sure, there’s a well-meaning environmental message in there . . . but you’re saying that the mysterious mass suicides in the northeastern United States were set in motion by trees?! And TREES are now about to cause GLOBAL CATASTROPHE? We sat through this ENTIRE film for that?!
#4: “Planet of the Apes” (2001)
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Messing with a classic film’s iconic twist ending? That’s just bananas! In the famous 1968 film, Charlton Heston’s George Taylor realizes that the “planet of the apes” is really Earth - he’s travelled to the far future. For his 2001 reboot, Tim Burton decided to add a different twist … but one that has more shock value than logic. The hero returns home to discover that apes have taken over - shown by a dramatically reworked Abe Lincoln memorial. This is actually closer to the source material, but in the novel, centuries have passed, allowing time for apes to become the dominant species. In the movie, there’s no explanation whatsoever. And even if this DID make sense, it would still pale in comparison to the original.
#3: “Remember Me” (2010)
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This was a twist ending no one wanted. It turns out, this romantic coming-of-age drama starring Robert Pattinson was somehow about, yet not really about, September 11. There’s no compelling story reason for the movie to end with such a tragic event, but the filmmakers shoehorned it in anyway. The film follows Pattinson’s character Tyler, whose life is ALREADY full of tragedy - his brother killed himself and he has a rocky relationship with his father. But then Tyler falls in love, patches things up with his dad . . . and dies in the Twin Towers. Yeah, it didn’t make sense to audiences either.
#2: “I Am Legend” (2007)
Top 20 Alternate Movie Endings
Richard Matheson’s novel “I Am Legend” is a classic that inspired the movies “The Last Man on Earth” and “The Omega Man”. What made it so memorable was its ending, when vampire hunter Robert Neville realizes that for vampires, HE is the terrifying monster preying on the innocent. The Will Smith vehicle “I Am Legend” seemed to be going in the same direction . . . until sending Smith out with a bang and his friends on to live happily ever after. It’s a conclusion that completely undermines the source material in favour of pure cliché. Although an alternate ending was released on DVD, this movie’s awful ending has become “legendary”. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions. “Knowing” (2009) So, Aliens Hand-Picked These Two Kids to Survive the Apocalypse? Makes Sense “X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006) Thank Goodness This Dreary Ending Wasn’t Actually the X-Men’s Last Stand “Oblivion” (2013) An Intriguing Premise Devolves into Cheap One-Liners & Unanswered Questions “Secret Window” (2004) The Bad Guy Is Really the Good Guy’s Other Personality
#1: “The Devil Inside” (2012)
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Was this a prank or what?! Taking our top spot is this found footage horror flick centered on demonic possession. In the finale, priest Ben Rawlings realizes that Isabella isn’t quite herself. Deciding that the hospital can’t help her, he sets his hopes on an exorcism instead. A scuffle in the car leads to the driver getting possessed, and they veer into oncoming traffic. Then everyone’s rolling around in the car and it’s horrible and bam, movie’s over and you’re left with…a website link? Wow, we hope you didn’t pay to see this in theaters.
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